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Diabetes trial bringing life-changing results
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Friday 14 May
An Austin Health trial using a once weekly injection to manage Type 2 diabetes is proving life-changing for patients.
Associate Professor Elif Ekinci, who has worked as a doctor for 20 years and an endocrinologist for 12 years, said she has never seen such positive results in a diabetes study.
“We are seeing patients’ glucose levels return to normal as a result of the medication they’re receiving as part of the trial,” A/Prof Ekinci said.
“This is not something I’ve ever encountered in diabetes management before.
“Many of the participants have lost in the order of 10–15kgs in weight and have actually been able to come off their other medications including insulin due to the significant improvement in their glucose levels.
“While it is still early in the life of the trial, these outcomes are potentially life changing for the one million people across Australia who have type 2 diabetes,” she said.
A/Prof Ekinci said the study is comparing the effectiveness of a once weekly injection of ‘Tirzepatide’ with the use of another standard medication used to manage Type 2 diabetes.
“The medication helps to manage two hormones that are naturally released in the gut after eating, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polyeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)," she said.
“The benefits of these hormones to patients are a result of an increase in the release of insulin from beta cells in the pancreas if glucose levels are high after eating and a reduction in the production of glucagon from the alpha cells, a hormone that normally increases glucose levels.
“These hormones also slow the emptying of the stomach which means patients feel full for longer and also switches off appetite centers in the brain.
“In this trial, we are looking at whether these outcomes reduce the incidence of heart attacks, strokes and death from cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes but the overall impact of the trial has been a significant improvement in quality of life for patients," Elif said.
